Mauro Forghieri and Ferrari. A visceral relationship for many years which then slowly faded over time, as if “Furia” were not part of the ‘hall of fame’ of the Maranello team. Perhaps the time has come for a “rehabilitation” of a figure that has given so much to the Ferrari brand.
Piero Ferrari (vice president), Mattia Binotto (F1 team principal), and Antonello Coletta (head of GT Sports Activities), wanted to remember the figure of the 87-year-old from Modena who helped design the most beautiful red racing cars from the 1960s to 80s.
Piero Ferrari, Ferrari Vice President, said: “When I joined the company in 1965, I shared the office with Cavalier Giberti, Ferrari’s first employee, and Mauro Forghieri, who had been hired a few years earlier, was in the office next door. We were separated by ten years of age and a glass. We actually saw each other all day every day.”
“Forghieri put energy and passion into all his activities. He had a sanguine character and I remember that in more than one of those interminable Sports Management meetings, which began in the evening and ended at night, I found myself mediating between him and my father. But I also know that my father appreciated in him the great desire to do things, he knew that behind his possible mistake there was always and only the attempt to do more and better, to look ahead. He is part of our history, a man who has given a lot to Ferrari and to the racing world in absolute terms.”
Mattia Binotto, Team Principal & Managing Director of Scuderia Ferrari: “Today is a very sad day for all of us at Scuderia Ferrari. We mourn the passing of Mauro Forghieri, one of the most extraordinary figures in our history. Appointed head of the team at 27, with his brilliant insights he was one of the last complete engineers in the world of racing”.
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“I happened to meet him on various occasions and each time it was a special emotion: his charisma has remained intact over time. His revolutionary ideas, together with his lively character and the ability to be a great motivator, have allowed him to to write some of the most important pages in the history of Ferrari and contributed to the myth of the Prancing Horse like few others.” – the Ferrari team principal added.
Antonello Coletta, Head of Ferrari GT Sport Activities continued: “Mauro Forghieri has played a key role in fueling the history of Ferrari. If Enzo Ferrari defined himself as an motivator of men, I think we can say that Forghieri was an creator of ideas. A brilliant innovator, capable of elaborating technical solutions that were precluded by most of the technicians of his time”.
“A designer who knew how to go beyond his role, becoming a reference point and a source of inspiration for all the people who collaborated with him. His eclecticism from a design point of view, his great curiosity and desire to go further, have given him a place in the history not only of Ferrari, but also of motorsport ” – Antonello Coletta concluded.
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